Light-emitting diodes brighten new HDTVs Deeper blacks, vivid colors make screens almost plasma-like in appearance By Scott Taves msnbc.com contributor updated 8:03 a.m. CT, Tues., Sept . 1, 2009 LED LCD TVs from Sony, Samsung, LG and others have joined the parade of garden-variety LCD and plasma TVs on the shelves of retailers. But before you say, “Not another acronym!” consider the energy savings and enhanced picture of this new breed of LCD HDTV. “Almost every customer who looks at the LED-lit HDTV for the first time immediately says, ‘"Wow! How did they do that?’ " says Best Buy Product Process Manager Andre Sam. “The most important advantages for consumers are deep blacks, shadowy details, smooth motion, vivid colors — all with much less heat and energy consumption.” LED, short for light-emitting diode, refers to the method of backlighting or illuminating the screens of these new TVs. Traditional LCD models use Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamps as the lighting source. These are thin fluorescent tubes with a panel that diffuse the light throughout the screen evenly. LED LCD high-definition TVs, sometimes more accurately called LED-lit HDTVs, replace the Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamps lighting with LEDs. To further confuse matters, some models such as the Samsung's 46-inch UN46B7000 ($2,799) use LEDs around the edge of the screen while others, like LG's 47-inch LG 47LH90 ($2,400) use a full-screen array of LEDs. The majority of LED-lit models use white LEDs, while Sony’s XBR8 line of TVs, including the 46-inch KDL-46XBR8 (around $2,500 retail), uses RGB — Red, Green and Blue —LEDs. The colored LEDs increase color intensity and accuracy. 'Skinny' TVs Each type of configuration has unique characteristics. Samsung's edge-lit LED TVs have a skinny supermodel profile. “One thing that sets Samsung LED TVs apart from other HDTVs is the incredible thinness of the set,” said John Revie, senior vice president of visual display marketing at Samsung Electronics America. “At just 1.2” (deep) and lighter in weight that than other models, they are easy to maneuver and wall-mount.” The Samsung line of sets, like most edge-lit LED TVs, are Energy Star v3.0 compliant and use up to 40 percent less electricity than regular LCD sets, Revie said. While the form and energy savings may be appealing, edge-lit LED models suffer from many of the same performance issues that dog traditional LCD technology. Uneven lighting and grayish black levels are often evident. Videophiles are advised to look for an LED LCD that features a full-screen array of LEDs and local dimming. A fully-array configuration supplies even backlighting, as opposed to a perimeter of LEDs which give off diffused, potentially inconsistent backlighting. The greatest benefit is the ability to turn individual LEDs on and off, a feature called local dimming. Contrast, the difference between light and dark in video images, is noticeably superior to edge-lit sets. The high contrast is achieved by turning off individual LEDs to boost dark or black areas of the picture. Plasma high-def TVs are known for producing the richest colors and deepest blacks, but full-array LED LCDs are closing the gap. THX certification LG, one of the major proponents for full-array LED technology, has several models that have been given THX certification, meeting a set of stringent video standards set forth by George Lucas’ technology and certification company. Tim Alessi, director of new product development at LG Electronics, explains the appeal of their LED LCDs: “LED backlighting takes picture quality to a new level by combining some of the best attributes from plasma and LCD into one platform. Details such as plasma-like black levels and color reproduction, as well as the trimmer profile and lower power consumption of LCD, combine for a set that’s pretty hard to top.” Typically, full-array LED LCDs sacrifice some of the energy efficiency and have slightly deeper enclosures than their edge-lit counterparts. For the ultimate performance in LED-lit LCDs, at a hefty price premium, Sony offers the XBR8 line. Called "TRILUMINOS RGB LED" it uses full-array RGB LEDs with local dimming. The XBR8 TVs, the only LED models with RGB LEDs, trump competing full-array LED LCDs that use only white light. White LEDs reduce the intensity of colors and black levels. Squeezed down Mike Patton, product manager, LCD televisions at Sony Electronics, recalls his introduction to LED LCD technology: “The first time I saw an LED-backlit LCD HDTV was in a small lab (at) Sony headquarters in Tokyo. "The electronics required to control all of the RGB LEDs took up more than half the room — one board for each LED. At the front of the room were two TVs that looked identical until they were powered on. It was truly amazing to see how ‘not black’ the black portions of the movie were on the traditional LCD when compared with the LED backlight utilizing local dimming. My reaction was, 'Wow! Now how are you going to fit this whole room’s worth of electronics into a TV set?’ Eight months later they had done it.” LED-lit TVs currently account for a small portion of HDTVs sold in the United States because of their higher prices and the limited number of models available. Industry analysts iSuppli believe that LED LCD sales will account for 4 percent of total LCD HDTV sales in 2009, while DisplaySearch puts the share at just 2 percent. The future looks brighter. By 2013, LED-lit LCD sets should make up between 47 and 50 percent of LCD HDTV sales, the research firms say. Not plasma's equal For consumers looking for the best picture quality today, some experts say that even the best LED LCDs can't match the color gamut and black levels, two common quality benchmarks, of premium plasma HDTVs, such as the Pioneer KURO line (which starts at around $3,500). Ben Drawbaugh, contributing editor at Web site Engadget HD, said he thinks that the new LED LCD sets "really don't compare to the Pioneer KURO. The new LED LCDs are much better than older LCDs, but still need some help to compare to the KURO.” “Infinite contrast is the ultimate goal,” Drawbaugh said. “Who knows if it is even achievable? But as manufacturers work toward it, we'll continue to see incremental improvements like the LED LCD.” © 2009 msnbc.com. Reprints URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32630515/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/
My macbook has an LED screen and it is really vivid. I love it. I can imagine why it would look fantastic on a TV.
So all this article really says is that if you want a big flat tv now, buy a plasma. Prices are coming down on those FAST. I am hoping to find a 55+ Plasma for around $1000 for Christmas, and I am betting there be some out there. Panasonic probably, and they have decent reviews. Yeah they may be a little heavier, but so what. Best picture quality at that size, even better than sets costing 3 times more. What's not to like?
you can buy a 50inch 720p plasma from samsung/panasonic for $800-$900 now. i know some people 'must' have 1080p, but would you pay the same price for a 40inch 1080p lcd? 50 is still > 40 that being said, plasmas do eat up more energy. but for bang for your buck, you can't beat them at certain prices. also, nothing is wrong with a 60hz LCD.
The best plasmas are still better overall in picture quality than the LCD's, LED or otherwise. The best thing about LED LCD tv's is they're very thin and use less power than a plasma.
I know. No, I am eyeballing a 58" 1080p plasma, the sweet spot for me is going to be about a grand. And I believe they will be there by Christmas. Yahoo!
check this out. its $1099! http://reviews.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/plasmatvreviews/samsung-pn50b550-review.html
Waiting for 40" OLED TVs to come out... the next generation of TVs baby! That's prob at least 2-3 years away.
Does anyone else actually dislike 120hz refresh rates? It makes everything look fake and overly produced, in my opinion. It makes a show like Dexter, for example, look like a soap opera. No bueno.
well people refer to the 'dejudder' function on these tvs. you can turn it off. it was meant to smooth out movies and make sports less blurry on lcds (plasmas do not have this problem). but they tend to take it too far. movies and shows aren't meant to look that smooth. Oh, they DO have a 480hz TV coming in January at CES (LG).
Now whyt he heck is there a 480? I thought that the 240 was supposed to be the last word in making a screen able to reproduce the high-quality films faithfully. Oh well, silly me.
Is it a standard feature that allows you to turn it off, or is it only on select brands and models? My parents have a new TV and I want to try and turn it off next time I'm over there.
each manufacturer calls it something different. I think Sony calls theirs Cinemotion, samsung calls its Cinema Smooth. The good thing about these 120hz tvs is that they accept the 1080p/24 fps signal from bluray players. 24 fps is what movies are recorded in, so you'll get the exact motion as if you were in the theaters. older tvs and dvd players call this the 3:2 pulldown so they can get the movie to look move smoothly like it does in the theater. sometimes called "FILM" mode on tvs.
http://www.rapidtvnews.com/index.php/200908304579/samsung-going-stratospheric-with-480hz-tv.html Samsung going stratospheric with 480Hz TV? | Print | E-mail Chris Forrester 30-08-2009 The Web is alive with rumours that Sth Korea TV-maker and electronics giant Samsung is about to unveil a 480Hz set (or 400Hz in the US, where 50 Hz electricity is the norm). One report suggests it will be displayed next week at IFA in Berlin. LG showcased a 480Hz LCD at the CES last January. But what possible benefits would a 480Hz unit provide? And why stop at 480 Hz? Why not go 600 Hz? Read on and discover why. There are a few potential answers to this ever-faster refresh conundrum. The usual response for any over-clocked set is that it reduces judder/motion blur and ‘flicker’. Most LCD (and Plasma) display-makers have been churning out ‘double refresh’ 120 Hz units for some time. The main effect that they are trying to overcome is the 3:2 ‘pulldown’ of frames in movies which were shot at 24 Hz (24 frames per second). If the 24 frames/s movie was shown at 30 frames per second, the movie would end up being sped up by about 1.25 times normal speed. To prevent this, the TV actually plays back each movie frame three times in succession, and every other frame twice in succession, hence 3:2 pulldown. “The problem occurs when a camera pans across a scene. Each frame consists of two video fields. But since each movie frame is displayed three times, there will be two instances where data is taken from the first and second frame, which creates a blurry, motion artefact known as judder,” says Mark Hachman from Extreme Tech. “Displaying images at [double] 60 frames per second, or 120 Hz, eliminates the problem. ‘120’ is five times 24, which means that 3:2 pulldown does not have to be used, and the judder is eliminated,” he adds. LG, and now seemingly Samsung, in cranking up the refresh rate, are further eliminating the ‘judder’ effect. But there’s possibly another benefit – and that’s to pave the way for 3D. It is suspected that Panasonic – perhaps amongst others – is seeking the Holy Grail of 600 Hz refresh rates, ten-times the old CRT standard, in order to create room for 3D transmissions that might well depend on what would then be quite spectacular ‘Full 3D’ with 120 Hz for each eye, and double refreshing even that high speed and ultra-low screen response time. Everyone recognises that full resolution 3D (not the ‘Half 3D’ being currently proposed) needs to handle not only lots of incoming data but a refresh rate on Plasma TVs that eliminates all Judder and Flicker even when 3D, at 120 Hz x 2 channels, is being watched. The consensus seems to be that Samsung’s (and LGs) 480 Hz is not just the ideal refresh rate but in fact is the minimum. So, our advice? Stand by for 600 Hz units, with a response time of just 0.001 milliseconds (ms), a frame sequential possibility, and with a Viera brand on the front panel. © Rapid TV News 2009
Is it the Samsung 61"? My buddy has one (got the mofo at Conn's for $1000 on sale!!!) and that thing is impressive.
Yeah, like tinman said above, there's an option to turn off the smooth engine / automotion soap opera effect thing. It should all be in the settings.
